It has been a long time since the iPod Touch has gotten a significant upgrade, two years to be exact. The last iPod Touch was released in 2013, and arguably caters to an extremely niche market. Hence, with much surprise, Apple has brought back their all-purpose touchscreen iPod once again. However, this time, could Apple have actually made the iPod Touch worth a good look at?
The improvements to the specifications of the iPod Touch brings its on par with the iPhone 6 in terms of internals – running on a A8 chip, equipped with Apple’s dedicated activity tracking M8 chip and a two-times increase in RAM. Though the display remains the same with a 4 inch 1136 x 640 retina display, the new iPod carries an improved 8MP rear camera over its predecessor.
With the advent of smartphones, the iPod Touch has not made sense as a secondary device for most people as of late. Most smartphones today offer similar, if not superior, specifications and functions to the iPod Touch. Even if one preferred a dedicated iOS device, the iPod Touch trails behind its more capable counterparts like the iPhone, iPad Air or Mini.
It seems that the iPod Touch has served as an entertainment device for children at best, being a small and cheaper alternative to tablets and iPhones. It seems that the new iPod Touch will be no different, since it is the perfect fit for a child’s hands. Trends are changing and tablets like the iPad Mini are losing popularity in the eyes of parents, costing at least twice as much. A price difference of more than RM 400 is nothing less than substantial, especially considering the propensity for damage in the hands of a hyperactive child.
The iPod Touch has always served a niche market, however, could the 2015 edition play a larger role in the consumer market? With every iPhone upgrade comes higher upfront costs, even on subsidised 2-year plans, and upgrading one’s iOS devices has become an increasingly more difficult decision to make.
The draw of the iOS is arguably high and it is foreseen that many will have trouble pulling away from iOS apps that they may have purchased sometime before. The new iPod Touch would bring these apps within an arm’s reach to these users and even serve as a cheaper gateway for those wanting to try the iOS for the first time.
The iPod Touch serves as a respectable music player, camera, gaming device and even as a gym fitness tracker (now possible with the M8 chip). For half the price of an unsubsidised iPhone 6 Plus (RM 3126), you are getting the best of the available apps from both Android and iOS, while still enjoying an equivalent processor. In addition, music and movie buffs can relish in the luxurious storage space in the 128GB version (RM 1599) of the iPod Touch. The cheaper 64GB, 32GB and 16GB tiers of storage also serves the consumer well as an affordable and worthy secondary companion iOS device.
The success or failure of the new iPod Touch 2015 seems to depend on the changing consumer attitudes, and perhaps even the climbing prices of Apple’s increasingly coveted iPhone. However, it seems for once, the iPod Touch might actually have a chance to enter into the consumer’s crosshairs as a worthy addition to their collection.
“This article was contributed by ShopBack.my”
Images via : 9to5mac